Methods and systems to display a video in an e-mail

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are disclosed for displaying a first video in an html compliant email on a computerized device. The method may comprise defining a predetermined number of frames to be included in the first video and creating at least one first video file comprising the frames. In embodiments, the frames may be ordered in a selected sequence. The method may also comprise storing the first video file on a server and embedding a link in an html code of the email to automatically call the first video file from the server and to display the video frames of the first video file in an email page of the email when the email is opened or otherwise viewed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application claims the benefits of priority ofInternational Patent Application No. PCT/CA2008/002112, filed Dec. 5,2008, which claims priority to commonly assigned Canadian PatentApplication No. 2,613,821, entitled “Method to Display a Video in anEmail” and filed at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 7,2007, the contents of which are both incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present inventions generally relate to the display of a video in anemail that is opened or viewed on a computerized device, moreparticularly to the display of a video in an email that does not requireany video player to be installed or executed on the computerized deviceto be viewed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Email marketing is the most cost-effective way for marketers toestablish interactive relationships with their customers and prospects.

Video ads are significantly more effective at engaging viewers becausethey can capture attention of more of the viewer's senses bycommunicating the three V's: Visual, Vocal, and Verbal. Communicationresearch has proven that a mere 7% of a message is perceived throughwords, 38% is through the tone of the presenter, and 55% is throughseeing the presenter's body language. Video communicates the other 93%of an advertising message that the viewer receives beyond a simplegraphic with text.

The challenge for today's email marketer is to stand out in thereceiver's crowded inbox with a compelling and entertaining message. Thefirst issue is getting the message into the inbox through the corporatefirewall and spam filter. The second is creating content that willcompel viewers to engage with the ad and ‘click-through’ to your website to interact with your message. Indeed, marketers have only 3seconds to grab the viewer's attention. The third is to provide theirresistible offer that the viewer can easily register to accept. And,finally the campaign must have the tracking metrics in place to measureeffectiveness.

There is thus a need to provide an email that attracts more traffic to aparticular web site and to augment the number of subscriptions, sales orregistrations for a product or an event. Furthermore, the email shoulddisplay quickly to grab the user's attention.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

A first object of the present invention is to provide an email in whicha video is displayed without the need to execute or install a player.

A second object of the present invention is to display a video in anemail that plays instantly when the email is opened or viewed.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbe obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments aboutto be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and variousadvantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the artupon employment of the invention in practice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an email in which a first video isdisplayed when the email is opened or viewed on a computerized device.If the user clicks on the email page, a web page is opened, referred toas the landing page in the present document. The landing page displays asecond video and other information related to the topic of the emailand/or the first or second video. Finally, another web page may beopened or accessed, referred to as the launch page. The launch page maycontain, for example, details for special events, event registration,event notification, turnkey e-commerce site, product launch page,special services, special promotions, master corporate website homepage, artist page, movie page.

The first video, displayed in the email page, does not need any playerto be viewed on the computerized device. One of the main advantages ofthe present invention is that there is no delay to begin the display ofthe first video. Another advantage is that the email will not be blockedor targeted as a virus or spam by most firewall and anti-virus. Theemail page is custom programmed and integrated into an HTML (Hyper TextMarkup Language) file, which can be inserted into most popular emaildelivery programs.

The first step to create the first video file is to define the frameelements to be included in it. The frame elements may be images orframes coming from videos. The images may be, for example, JPEG images,PNG images, PSD images (PHOTOSHOP™) or AI files (ADOBE™ ILLUSTRATOR™files). The video frames may come from various digital video inputs(AVI, MPEG, MPEG2, MPEG 4, MOV, RAM, VOB, WMV, MOVPortable Media) orcome from an analog form from digital video tapes (beta, VHS, mini DV)converted to a digital format. The first video may also be an animation.The frames can have any dimensions and are not limited to a rectangularshape. The first video file may also comprise audio components that maybe, for example, WAV files, MP3 files or any other suitable format.

The chosen frames are ordered in a particular sequence and the firstvideo file is created using an off the shelf software package. A newvideo file format has been created for this purpose, the CVI™ format. Itis possible to display the first video file for a particular number oftimes in the email page. In this case, the html code of the email isimplemented to create loops according to the desired number of timeschosen previously. The loops are programmed by a consumer third partyoff the shelf software.

The first video file having a CVI™ format is then posted on a serverwhich is programmed to recognize the CVI™ format.

To display the first video file in an email, a hot link is embedded inthe html code of the email. The hot link calls the first video file,which is stored on the server, and sequently displays the video framesin the email. The hot link is a mechanism where two applications arelinked together so that changes to one will affect the other. Thus, thehot link provides a link between the email and the first video filelocated on the server to sequently display the frames of the first videoon a computerized device. The email page preferably integrates the firstvideo and graphic content artwork and text into a complete designlayout.

A frame editing system may be provided for the selection and theordering of the frames of the first video file by different parties. Theframes can be added, deleted, and re-ordered to create the first videofile without the need to have an editing system. Reviews are made insync using the frame by frame feature of the custom CLEMSTAR™ VideoPlayer. The reviewing step can occur simultaneously in an unlimitednumber of geographical locations via the internet, enhancingsignificantly the review time.

The CLEMSTAR™ player has been developed using action script in theMACROMEDIA™ software development environment. The player can be custombranded for a company for the web video delivery solution in the landingpage (special custom programming required). The length of the secondvideo displayed in the landing page can be as large as the server canstore.

All the files are custom programmed and integrated into an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) file. The completed video landing page HTML fileis posted on a server.

The landing page may be automatically opened when the display of thefirst video file is finished, or after a predetermined period. Thelanding page comprises a second video file and may comprise graphiccomponents, such as graphical image files (JPEG or PNG images forexample) or text. The second video may come from a digital or an analoginput. The second video is preferably translated to a largeruncompressed video quality.

Preferably, the video player of the landing page instantly analyses thebandwidth of the computerized device and determines which video feed isbest for the connection, allowing the player to start streaming withminimal delay, while providing a high quality streaming video. Anautomatic bandwidth detector can be a real performance booster toaccelerate the time for the delivering of the video playback. It hasbeen noticed that in North America the recipient bandwidth varies allthe time depending on a company's bandwidth distribution and time ofday. In order to achieve the quickest play back with minimal wait time,the second video is encoded in several bandwidths. The bandwidthdetector typically buffers for several seconds. Viewers have experience0-5 seconds to buffer a whole 2 hours movie, for any operating system(WINDOWS™, MAC™ or UNIX™).

To further minimize the delay to see the second video of the landingpage, the download of this second video may begin as soon as the emailis opened or viewed. When the landing page is opened, a portion of thevideo has yet been buffered.

The video player of the landing page may be programmed to automaticallylaunch to the desired web launch page when the second video is finished.It is also possible to combine both previous web pages in only one webpage.

The features of the present invention, which are believed to be novel,are set forth with particularity in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the inventionwill become more readily apparent from the following description,reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the steps to create the first video file.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the sequence for the display of the firstvideo in an email as seen by the viewer.

FIG. 3 is example of the frame by frame editing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A novel video email will be described hereinafter. Although theinvention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiment(s),it is to be understood that the embodiment(s) described herein are byway of example only and that the scope of the invention is not intendedto be limited thereby.

In FIG. 1, the steps to create the first video to be displayed in anemail are shown in a flowchart. The first video file is constituted by aplurality of frames coming typically from a source video 105. If thesource video is analog 110, it is converted 115 into a digital video.

To obtain the frames, a third party software 130 may be used to createframes from the source video. It is also possible to use another methodto extract the selected frames from a source video.

A plurality of frames is chosen 135 and ordered into a particularsequence 140 to create the first video file to be displayed in the emailpage. An optional step is to determine the number of times the videowill be displayed in the email page 145, from 1 to infinity. The htmlcode of the first video file is consequently implemented to create thecorresponding number of loops for the display. This is typicallyrealized by a third party software. The first video file created isassociated to the CVI™ format 150 and posted on server 160. The CVI™format has been created for this purpose and the server is configured torecognize this format 155.

The email is coded in a HTML format containing the text and the designof the email. A hot link is embedded 165 in the code of the email tocall the first video file from the server and to display the file in theemail page when the email is opened or viewed.

If the user clicks on the email page or on the first video file, alanding page is opened 170 where a second video is displayed.

The video displayed in the email is not limited to a rectangular screen,it may be almost any form such as, for example, a circle, a star, etc. .. .

In FIG. 2, the diagram shows the sequence as seen by the viewer. First,the viewer receives and views the email 205 containing the first video.When the viewer clicks on the first video or on the email page 210,he/she is brought to a landing page where he/she can see a second video215. It is also possible to automatically open the landing page when thedisplay of the first video is finished. At the end of the second video,he/she may be automatically brought to another page, the launch page 220that may contain, for example, details for special events, an eventregistration, an event notification, a turnkey e-commerce site, aproduct launch page, special services, special promotions, a mastercorporate website home page, an artist page or a movie page. He/she maythen interact with the launch page and enter information or request fora product related to the sent email.

On the landing page, many options for the video may be included, forexample:

Volume slider

Information button

Stop button

Fast rewind button with Video display

Play/pause button

Fast forward with video display

Timer button with elapsed time and time remaining toggle

Navigation slider with time indicator

Adjust Picture sliders

Brightness and contrast

Saturation

Play size selector on display window

Half size or original

Fit to window

In FIG. 3, an embodiment is shown for the frame by frame editing system,with a frame by frame counter 310, the image 320 and the menu 330.

It is to be understood that the video may be displayed on anycomputerized device that is enabled to receive and display emailmessages. The computerized device may be, but not limited to, acomputer, a pocket PC, a PDA, a laptop, a personal e-mailing system(e.g. BLACKBERRY™) or a cellular phone which can be linked to theInternet.

While illustrative and presently preferred embodiment(s) of theinvention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to beunderstood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variouslyembodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to beconstrued to include such variations except insofar as limited by theprior art.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method to display a first video in anhtml compliant email on a computerized device, the method comprising:defining a predetermined number of frames to be included in said firstvideo; creating at least one first video file comprising said frameswherein said frames are ordered in a selected sequence; storing saidfirst video file on a server; embedding a hot link in an html code ofsaid email to automatically call said first video file from said serverand to display said video frames of said first video file in an emailpage of said email when said email is opened or otherwise viewed andwithout executing a local video player; and providing a landing web pagecomprising a video player, wherein said landing web page is configuredto be opened after said email is opened or otherwise viewed; and whereinsaid video player comprises instructions to analyze a bandwidthassociated with said computerized device to provide a second video feedto said computerized device with minimal delay.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein said landing web page is configured to be opened when a userclicks on said email page of said email.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein a second video file is stored on a server and said second videofile is streamed onto said landing web page.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein a second video file on said landing web page begins to bedownloaded when said email is opened or viewed.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein a second video file on said landing web page is opened aftersaid video frames of said first video file have been displayed.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising determining the number of timessaid sequence of said frames will be displayed.
 7. The method of claim6, further comprising implementing said html code to create a loop forthe display of said first video file according to said number of times.8. The method of claim 1 wherein said screen for displaying said videoframes has a shape other than a rectangle.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein said shape of said screen is selected from a star and a circle.10. The method of claim 1, wherein said first video file is created by aframe editing system.
 11. A system to display a first video in an htmlcompliant email, the system comprising: a server to store at least onefirst video file comprising a predetermined number of frames, whereinsaid frames are ordered in a selected sequence; a computerized devicefor displaying an email; wherein a link is embedded in an html code ofsaid email to automatically call said first video file from said serverand to display said video frames of said first video file in an emailpage of said email when said email is opened or otherwise viewed andwithout executing a local video player; and a landing web pagecomprising a video player, wherein said landing web page is configuredto be opened after said email is opened or otherwise viewed; and whereinsaid video player comprises instructions to analyze a bandwidthassociated with said computerized device to provide a second video feedto said computerized device with minimal delay.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein said landing web page is configured to be opened when a userclicks on a page of said email.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein asecond video file is stored on a server and said second video file isstreamed onto said landing web page.
 14. The system of claim 11, whereinsaid sequence of frames of said first video file is displayed apredetermined number of times by creating a loop in said html code ofsaid email.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein a second video file onsaid landing web page begins to be downloaded when said email is openedor viewed.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein a second video file onsaid landing web page is automatically opened after said video frames ofsaid first video file have been displayed.
 17. The system of claim 11,wherein said first video file is created by a frame editing system. 18.A computerized device, comprising: a memory for storing an htmlcompliant email, said email comprising a hot link embedded in the htmlcode of said email; and a processor coupled to said memory, saidprocessor being configured for using said hot link to automatically callat least one first video file stored on a server and to display videoframes of said first video file in an email page of said email when saidemail is opened or otherwise viewed and without executing a local videoplayer; wherein said computerized device is configured to communicatewith a landing web page comprising a video player, wherein said landingweb page is configured to be opened after said email is opened orotherwise viewed; and wherein said video player comprises instructionsto analyze a bandwidth associated with said computerized device toprovide a second video feed to said computerized device with minimaldelay.
 19. The computerized device of claim 18, wherein said frames ofsaid first video file are displayed a predetermined number of times bycreating a loop in said html code of said email.